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No way should Chicago have been ahead of Seattle. The craft beer culture is far more prolific in Seattle - Seattle has way more micro-breweries per capita and even the diviest bars often have a good selection of local microbrews.

The problem with Seattle's beer/bar scene is that its oversaturated with the stupid oh-so-trendy beard-having, flannel-wearin, skinny jeaned hipsters riding their fixie bikes to the dive bars to be "cool". That crap right there makes me laugh at the scene in Seattle, I just cant take it seriously. And most of the beers Ive sampled are the pure definition of overrated, overpriced, and MEH. Nothing to write home about at all.

Its all a matter of personal taste, bud. And if youve had the Colorado-brewed Goose Island (ie Honkers Ale), its not good. You have to get it out of Chicago, just trust me on that.

And in my honest opinion, most beers Ive had from Portland werent anything to write home about either.

People from SEA & PDX have a 'holier than thou' attitude to their beer scene. That's why SD is so funny to have one of the biggest scenes going for them -- a city full of bro's who are like "whatever, it's beer I'll drink it" towards the local beer industry.

The problem with Western beers is they feel they need to pack as many "local hops" as possible in a bottle, even if it means absolutely ruining beers like stouts and porters which should not have a dominant hops note. Since I'm not a fan of IPAs/hoppy-pops, and I want my stouts to taste like stouts and etc., I've stopped buying anything West of the Plains. Since my favorite beers weres already mentioned above (stouts/porters, though I like Belgians and sours and many other kinds), it's obvious why I prefer the Great Lakes region, especially Michigan (though WI and OH make tons of great batches). I used to rate CA and CO much higher than I do currently, as I've generally been very disappointed over the last few years with the product.

Grand Rapids should definitely be on everyone's list. Chicago, not so much. At least not considering the population.

The problem with Western beers is they feel they need to pack as many "local hops" as possible in a bottle, even if it means absolutely ruining beers like stouts and porters which should not have a dominant hops note. Since I'm not a fan of IPAs/hoppy-pops, and I want my stouts to taste like stouts and etc., I've stopped buying anything West of the Plains. Since my favorite beers weres already mentioned above (stouts/porters, though I like Belgians and sours and many other kinds), it's obvious why I prefer the Great Lakes region, especially Michigan (though WI and OH make tons of great batches). I used to rate CA and CO much higher than I do currently, as I've generally been very disappointed over the last few years with the product.
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Might be some truth here. For instance one of the most overrated beers of all-time is out of CA for me -- Pliny the Elder. I feel like Stone, Russian River, Laguanita's make some weird IPAs that just tasted like tree bark was thrown into the fermentation process. But you should have another look at porters and stouts out of CA. They definitely exist. And CO has my favorite series of stouts ever made: The Yeti family from Great Divide!

The problem with Western beers is they feel they need to pack as many "local hops" as possible in a bottle, even if it means absolutely ruining beers like stouts and porters which should not have a dominant hops note. Since I'm not a fan of IPAs/hoppy-pops, and I want my stouts to taste like stouts and etc., I've stopped buying anything West of the Plains. Since my favorite beers weres already mentioned above (stouts/porters, though I like Belgians and sours and many other kinds), it's obvious why I prefer the Great Lakes region, especially Michigan (though WI and OH make tons of great batches). I used to rate CA and CO much higher than I do currently, as I've generally been very disappointed over the last few years with the product.

Grand Rapids should definitely be on everyone's list. Chicago, not so much. At least not considering the population.

I felt very much the same way at first. I think some of the more popular brews from out west really do feel that way. If you dig a little, you'll find that there's much more to Western brews than IPAs.

The problem with Western beers is they feel they need to pack as many "local hops" as possible in a bottle, even if it means absolutely ruining beers like stouts and porters which should not have a dominant hops note. Since I'm not a fan of IPAs/hoppy-pops, and I want my stouts to taste like stouts and etc., I've stopped buying anything West of the Plains. Since my favorite beers weres already mentioned above (stouts/porters, though I like Belgians and sours and many other kinds), it's obvious why I prefer the Great Lakes region, especially Michigan (though WI and OH make tons of great batches). I used to rate CA and CO much higher than I do currently, as I've generally been very disappointed over the last few years with the product.

Grand Rapids should definitely be on everyone's list. Chicago, not so much. At least not considering the population.

I'm not sure population plays any role. The most populous states and cities aren't commonly considered the epicenters of craft brewing. In Chicago's defense, it does have a lot of small breweries that people wouldn't normally encounter unless you ventured out more.

I'm not sure population plays any role. The most populous states and cities aren't commonly considered the epicenters of craft brewing. In Chicago's defense, it does have a lot of small breweries that people wouldn't normally encounter unless you ventured out more.

Agree. Yes Chicago's bigger than most of the other cities, but it still has a great brewing culture that makes it easy to get great local product, either packaged or through local brew pubs or craft bars. Likewise, GR punches above its weight, but still should just be considered a great city (even, region) for beer.

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